Burns was one of a handful of Sharks skating in anticipation of the opening of training camp this weekend. He is still dealing with the aftermath of off-season hernia surgery, but wouldn't assess his condition.

Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks poses for his official headshot for the 2012-13 season on January 13, 2013 at Sharks Ice in San Jose, CA. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) (Don Smith)

"I've got no comment on that stuff," he said. "Nothing on that front."

He did talk about playing with the injury last season.

"It's tough when you're dealing with something. You change your game, you make things simpler. With me, it probably gets me out of trouble rather than getting me into trouble," he said.

"You can't help but play different," Burns added. "If you've got a tough guy and he's got a broken hand, it's probably going to change his game a little bit. I was able to kind of work through it."